A few things you need to know about the Modified Racing Series before we begin:
- They qualify with heat races instead of time trials.
- Their heat races are scheduled for 12 laps.
- Their heat races are done without the help of the pace car. At least, it’s done here.
The feature portion of the night started with the Limited Late Models. Jesse Hinze was the first leader as he pulled ahead of the rest of the field. Duane Provost was in second, with the rest of the drivers behind them like wolves. By the time they completed three laps, the pack of wolves spread out a bit, and beginning on the very next lap, a group of cars, led by Shawn Thibeault, passed Provost and dropped him back to the sixth spot. The first half of the race ran smoothly, but the second half of the race kicked off with a caution exactly halfway through. It was for Carla Botticello, who was backwards in turns one and two, bringing out the first caution of the program. She was able to drive off, and before too long, there was the restart. George Nocera, Jr took advantage and made the move around Hinze to take over as the leader. Andrew Durand was now applying pressure on Hinze for second, teasing a bit like he wanted to make a pass - he eventually did by the lap-15 mark. Three laps later, however, the caution came out for Botticello. Again, she was backwards. This time, the spin was in turns three and four. Just like the first caution, she was able to get back in line quick. The result? A late race restart, which had a fight for the lead between Nocera and Durand for what was about a half lap. Nocera pulled out into the lead. The last two laps ran smoothly, and Nocera picked up his second win of the season. Durand had to settle for the runner-up spot. Third was Dave Yardley, III, and fourth was Dan Flannery.
Next up, it was the Late Models. There was almost a three-wide fight for the lead (if there was, there was too much chaos) on the opening lap. The winner of the madness was Jim Peterson, who came from the second row in order to take the lead. He held a nice-sized lead over Keith Rocco, who was in second. Second would be taken from his grasp by Tom Fearn only a lap or two later. Both drivers pulled away from the rest of the field; mainly, seven cars running for the third position (the leader of that pack was Corey Hutchings). The race slowed down as there was a caution with 12 laps on the board. It happened when Tracy Brouillette spun in turn three, and Mark St. Hilaire seemed to just drive right into him. The distance between Peterson and Fearn was just about a full straightaway, but that huge lead was diminished into nothing. The eventual restart was less chaotic than what the start of the race was, but Peterson returned right to the front. Hutchings moved into second, while Woody Pitkat found himself in third. Those positions would change at the halfway mark, however, when Pitkat pulled a move, heading down to the outside. He passed Hutchings with near ease, bringing Michael Bennett with him. Around lap-18, however, Bennett seemed to have a problem and pulled off the pace. This gave third to Jim Mavlouganes. Meanwhile, Pitkat caught up to Peterson. It seemed as though it was going to happen - a pass for the lead. It did, with seven laps to go. Pitkat managed to pass Peterson for the lead, and began to take off. The yellow came out only three laps later, as Ryan Posocco and Scott Cook were involved in an accident on the backstretch. Posocco ended up down near the turn three area, while Cook was abandoned in turn one. The red flag came out because of this accident. The race was red flagged for about a half hour because medical personnel were attending to Cook. Red changed back to yellow, and on the restart, Pitkat picked up where he left off, which was leading the race. Both he and Peterson pulled away from the field, and the distance between first and second was enough for Pitkat to win his seventh race of the season. Peterson was second, followed by Mavlouganes in third and Hutchings in fourth.
After the MRS consolation events (15 laps; with pace car assistance), feature racing resumed.
And it was more modified action, as the SK Lights were next. It all started with Erica Santos being the first leader of the event. Behind her, the girls were trying to take command. Second was Victoria Bergenty, while third was Heather DesRochers. But a fight for third commenced between DesRochers and Joseph Cipriano, III, and an all-female top-three came to a halt as Cipriano picked up the position. Within the first five laps of the race, he had taken third and had taken second as well. Second wasn’t enough, however. As he attempted a pass for the lead, the caution came out with seven laps on the board. DesRochers and Bergenty made contact, with Bergenty spinning around in turns one and two. While that was going on, Jay Goff and another car were involved in a incident of their own. Goff wound up with the worst of the damage. He ended up on the backstretch, just coming out of turn two, with his car on fire. The red flag came out immediately and the flames were quickly extinguished. His car was towed off the track, while Bergenty drove away from her accident scene. When the green came back out, Ted Cain seemed to push Cipriano into the lead. It was clear that second belonged to Cain. Santos had to settle for third after she appeared to not come up to speed on the restart. The green flag run only lasted a lap, as the yellow came right back out with eight laps on the board. It was for Tony Santangelo and Kyle Spencer, who spun in turns three and four. Even though they spun, both cars were towed off the track, ending their nights. On the restart, it was Cipriano out in front once again. Cain was still in second. But the battle for third began again. It was between three cars - Santos, Thomas Barrett, Jr, and Matt Galko. Soon enough, the fight became a two-car race, and it was between two of the division’s youngsters in Barrett and Galko. It was definite to proclaim that Barrett was third with six laps to go. Also with six laps to go? The start of the next caution. Cain gave up his second place run in a bad way when he spun in turn four. The field ticked off the lap, making it five laps to go, and he was able to drive off. But he kicked dirt up onto the track and there was a scramble in the turn as well. The green came back out to signal a restart, and there was a fight for the lead. Cipriano and Barrett were side by side for the entire lap after the green came out. That fight ended on the next lap, as Barrett took over as the leader. The last four laps ran caution-free, and Barrett won his ninth race of the season. Cipriano finished second. Galko and Santos finished off the board.
The SK Modifieds were next. There was the possibility of a championship in this race. If Keith Rocco ended up finishing 12th or better, he would officially win his second track championship. 40 laps were between that, however. Sean Foster was the early leader, with Chris Jones running behind him. Dan Avery was third, with a pack of wolves running behind him. It was four laps before Zach Sylvester joined the party and tried to take over the spot from Avery. Other cars running in what was now the lead pack were Ryan Preece and Woody Pitkat. Over the course of the early laps, Jones took over as the leader of the race. That pack that was running at the front of the field thinned out over the course of the next few laps, as Z. Sylvester found himself in third… And ultimately, fighting for second. That didn’t work out well. He was almost three-wide with Pitkat and Pitkat, and with nine laps in the books, Pitkat won the fight and moved into third. Two laps later, he moved around Foster for second. Preece moved into third. But they still had to catch up to Jones. In the midst of all the madness, Mark Bakaj spun in the grass coming out of turn two. He eventually got going, but it was too late. The caution came out with 17 laps down. Before the restart, the inside row was already bumping each other. They were more well behaved once the restart actually happened. And there was a fight for the lead. Pitkat was about ready to take the lead from Jones, but he almost got loose and fell back into fourth. Jones was still in the lead. A full lap was completed before the next caution came out (18 laps on the board). The caution was for Nichole Morgillo, who spun in turns three and four. (Other cars may have been involved, but I didn’t catch if there were. Sorry.) On the restart, the winds changed and a new leader seemed to have emerged in Preece. But he was involved in an accident. Other cars were involved, and the caution came out within the same lap. Take two, anyone? Pitkat found himself as the leader, leaving Jeff Baral to fend off quite a few challengers. He did fend them off, as the challengers spread out into what was roughly translated to a single-file line. If you were looking for a real battle, you would have had to look further back in the field. For the cars in the top-10 or so? Not so much. Until 10 laps to go, as Preece was making his way back up through the field. He passed Ted Christopher for ninth and was looking for eighth when the caution came back out - still with 10 laps to go. A three-car incident (Josh Sylvester, Adam Skowyra, Todd Owen) was in turns one and two, and the yellow was right back out. When the green returned, it was business as usual for Pitkat, as he returned back out front. Baral was once again trying to make sure nobody happened to pass him. It was the group of cars behind him, however, that was going to make the most noise. Only two laps were completed before the next caution came out. After Curt Brainard almost stopped dead in his tracks, Frank Ruocco was sent up high in the process and was stuck in turns three and four. He drove off after the yellow came out. It set up another restart… And it was the same old song and dance. Pitkat was right back out in front. The battle for second was on between Baral and Jeff Malave, with Malave getting the spot. Baral was left with Preece for third. Unfortunately, another caution came out with six laps to go. It wasn’t known which incident brought out the caution, however - the one that had Lou Cicconi spinning in turns one and two, or the accident in turn three involving Raymond Grassetti and Ruocco. The cars from the turn three accident were either towed off or brought on pit road, and Cicconi drove away from the scene of the spin. Once again, it set up a restart - one that wasn’t going to be decided until… Well, it wasn’t actually decided yet. A multi-car accident in turn three set up another caution; this one with five laps to go. But fluid on the track brought out a red flag (the third one on the entire evening). The liquid was eventually cleaned up and the race would go right back to green flag action. Was there going to be a new leader? Yes - for a little bit. Malave had the lead going into the first turn, but Pitkat picked it right back up. Preece was going after Malave and the second spot, and he’d get it. He also wanted the lead. There were some attempts at trying the pass, but they weren’t enough. Pitkat picked up another win; his third win of the SK season (and second on the night). Preece finished second, with Malave in third. Avery rounded out the board in fourth. As for Rocco and his championship chances? A ninth-place finish secured them.
The SK Modified feature event was a qualifier for the North-South Shootout in November (being held in North Carolina). That wasn’t the only race that was a qualifier for the race that weekend - the MRS race was also a qualifier.
Speaking of the Modified Racing Series race, it was up next. Ron Silk took the lead at the drop of the green flag. Behind him, it was Rowan Pennink and Ted Christopher racing for second. Christopher took second (punting Pennink to third) and took the lead in the span of two laps. If there seemed like there was a lack of action over the early laps of the race, then there was a lack of it. The field ended up single-file with, for the most part, no battles for position. It was fast paced action for the first 24 laps of the race. And then, the caution came out. Steve Masse and Louie Mechalides spun in turns and two, bringing out what was a yellow flag and a pause to whatever momentum the race had in the early stages of the race. This led to a restart. Christopher and Silk fought for the lead for most of the lap until Christopher reclaimed it in turns three and four. With that, he began to pull away from the field. And again, the field ended up single-file. It didn’t last long, however, as Rob Janovic was high in turn four after a problem with the right front tire. That triggered the second caution. On the restart, was there going to be a new leader? Yes and no. Yes because it looked as though Silk was going to take over, and no because Christopher was keeping close to him. It wasn’t until the next lap that Christopher pulled right back out in front. And like every other restart the race had so far, Christopher pulled away from the field. The green flag run let the field play single-file once again. It wasn’t until the field hit lap-63 that the first car was lapped in the event. At that point, the tone of the race changed. It wasn’t a big change, but it was still a change. And it didn’t seem to faze Christopher at all. He still had a pretty-good sized lead, even as he was lapping cars. The rest of the race ran green, and Christopher picked up the win. Silk finished second, followed by Pennink and Jeff Malave.
The DARE Stocks would be the ones to complete the program. Stephanie Berardi took control and took the lead at the beginning. Vince Gambacorta was right behind her. This wouldn’t last long, as the caution came out within that original lap. Cory Casagrande, and Jim Brice were involved in a turn three accident (among others). After the caution came out, the leaders got into each other on the frontstretch, but as previously mentioned, the caution was already out. Therefore, both drivers got their spots back. After everything was squared away, the race went back to green. Berardi once again pushed herself into the lead, but Gambacorta was right there with her and took over as the leader as they crossed the line to complete the lap. Within the next four laps, Berardi would be sent backwards due to other drivers passing her. Those drivers included Jeff Jolly, Andrew Hayes, and Tommy Membrino, Jr. They’d have a shot at the lead, as the caution came out for the second time - this time, with six laps on the board. Kelsey Rottino was in the grass on the backstretch, smoking and in distress after taking damage to the front end. The car was towed and the restart would occur not too long after the fact. On the aforementioned restart, Gambacorta went right back out to the front. Hayes moved into second, bringing Barry Fluckiger with him. Hayes attempted to make a pass for the lead and did just that as nine laps ticked off the board. Josh Wood found himself succeeding after a move around Gambacorta for what was second on the very next lap. As the rest of the race went green, Hayes scored his third win of the season. J. Wood settled for second. Gambacorta finished third, while Jolly finished fourth.
Only one more Friday night of racing left on the calendar before the Fall Final. Next Friday night, there will be a five-division program on our hands. What championships, if any, will be decided? Weather permitting, we shall find out.
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